Thursday, March 17, 2011

Why I ♥ Lent

Lent is tailor-made for the introvert. It is the 12.6% of the year where we are expected to be quiet. And thoughtful. When it is perfectly acceptable to walk into church 10 minutes early and sit - silently - in prayer or meditation. And perfectly acceptable to walk out at the end of the service quietly, and without speaking to others. When, in fact, if you are not doing these things, you're sort of the odd man out.

When it is okay to say, "You know, I've been working on just bringing things down a notch, trying to spend more time praying, adopting a simpler lifestyle, spending some time alone with God." If you say that in the middle of the summer, people stare at you like you're a freak. If you say it in Lent, everyone nods, and then feels guilty about not doing it themselves. :-)

Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay, you're okay—in small doses."

He also draws on the experience of our introverted 30th President:

Extroverts therefore dominate public life. This is a pity. If we introverts ran the world, it would no doubt be a calmer, saner, more peaceful sort of place. As Coolidge is supposed to have said, "Don't you know that four fifths of all our troubles in this life would disappear if we would just sit down and keep still?"

So, it's easy to see why introverts would be drawn to Lent. The only time of the year when social pressure pushes us in our natural direction. For a heavily Americanized Lutheranism increasingly focused on "what people want," stirring up discontent to encourage political action, happy-clappy "Jesus is my boyfriend" music, a reminder that we are also called to be quiet before our Lord is appropriate.

About Me

I am a walking dialectic, so I suppose it's good that I'm a Lutheran. I'm into the Bible, geeky theology stuff, and staying up past my bedtime. I'm definitely "my own person" and I ask lots and lots of questions. I feel like I just wrote a personal ad.

Beautiful and Important

"The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross". ~ Colossians 1:15-20